Cookbooks To Savor

Nigella Lawson: FeastWhat cooking, especially for family and loved-ones is all about.

Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee: Eating KoreanI would place this cookbook in my top 10 of all time. The recipes are delicious and each section is packed with the best of Korean home cooking. The stories are wonderful, too. Highly recommend.

Irma S. Rombauer: The Joy of Cooking (not the "All New", the old school one) I don't so much like this for main dish and salad recipes as for baked goods, sauces, and jams. I have my mother's copy, and when I was about 12, my favorite thing to do was to make tea sandwiches from this cookbook. Every weekend I'd make a couple of different kinds until I worked my way through all the spreads and fillings. A good basic cookbook.

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This morning at breakfast, since I was in the kitchen preparing food for breakfast and lunches anyway, I started a pot of black bean soup for dinner. After simmering all morning, it was done by noon and now I don't have to worry about dinner for the rest of the day. I snuck a taste at lunch time and, after adjusting the seasonings, I'm going to give it a little more time to mellow. It'll be just right by dinner time, and even better the next day.

BLACK BEAN SOUP

Saute the following together in a big soup pot until onions are lightly browned:

Runner beans (aka Italian flat beans) have been so delicious from our local farmer's market lately. My favorite way to do 'em up is to saute some smashed garlic and sweet red onion in olive oil until the onions go all caramel-y. (In winter time I also add a bit of diced pancetta.) Then I dump in the beans (ends snapped) and sauté until they are crisp-tender. Sea salt and fresh ground pepper are the finishing touch. We had these along side grilled lamb tonight.

All you need for this tasty snack is a can of garbanzos, some seasoning, a pan, and and oven. Place drained garbanzos in a shallow roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil and seasoning of your choice (salt, garlic salt, lemon pepper, or my personal fave: zatar spices mixed with a pinch or two of sugar), shake to coat, roast at 400º for 25 minutes. (I have a convection oven, if you don't check the garbanzos about 10 minutes in to ensure they aren't burning.) Shake pan half way through cooking. Let cool slightly and serve warm or at room temperature. My kids love this, and are eating it right now.

Pancetta-lovers take note: If you are looking for my green beans with pancetta recipe, it is loosely based on this one so go 'head and read through it. I explain it all at the end of the post.

Sauteed green beans are one of my favorite things to make for Thanksgiving dinner, but this side dish has an unusual twist: persimmons. I love the color contrast between the bright green beans and the deep orange persimmon.

SAUTEED GREEN BEANSWITH PERSIMMONSAND HAZELNUTS

Prepare and ice water bath (lots of very cold water with ice) in a large bowl while the beans are cooking.

Inspired by a Gourmet magazine recipe from November 1994. (I still have it.)

a handful of toasted hazelnuts (or walnuts), slightly smashed, reserve some for garnish

Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add green beans and cook for about 3 minutes, until very al dente. Immediately drain and plunge beans into an ice water bath to stop cooking. When cool, drain beans and pat dry.

Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, saute shallots in olive oil over medium heat until they turn golden and transluscent. Add the persimmons and continue cooking until persimmons are softened but not falling apart. Taste for salt. Add green beans, stiring lightly, and cook until beans are warmed through, about 5-7 minutes. Add most of the hazelnuts and toss. Cook about a minute more. Adjust seasonings. Transfer to serving dish, top with a sprinkling of hazelnuts. Serve at once. Serves 8.

PANCETTA NOTES: If you are making this with pancetta, simply omit the
persimmon and replace with about 4 ounces of diced pancetta. Saute the
pancetta with the shallots until the shallots are translucent and just
starting to carmelize. Then toss with the cooked green beans.

This is a very simple (and tasty) chili that comes together quickly when you don't have lots of time to cook. A perfect weeknight meal.CHICKEN AND ANY BEAN CHILI

1 pound ground chicken

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 medium onion, diced

olive oil

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 29 ounce can crushed tomatoes (or tomato sauce or a combination)

1 can of beans (white beans, chili beans, kidney beans, pinto beans)

salt and pepper to taste

In a soup pot or dutch over saute chicken in a little olive oil until browned. Add garlic and onion and continue cooking until onions turn soft and translucent. Add chili powder and cumin and cook spices for 1-2 minutes. Add tomatoes, lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes, covered. Just before serving, add in beans and warm through, about five minutes more. Check seasonings. (I find that this chili didn't need any additional salt because I used chili beans. They were salty enough to season the chili.)

Serve topped with your favorite condiments, or Hawaii-style (the only thing missing is a scoop of macaroni salad:

To kick off bean week here at Family Food, I'm sharing a recipe that I didn't photograph because it all got eaten before I had time to.

Last week, when it was rainy and cold, I made a big pot of lentils per my daughter Bunny's request. When I think of fall, I think of braises. I think of stews. I think of beans.

Bunny prefers her lentils to be intact (as opposed to pureed for soup) so you can quick-cook this dish and have it on the table within 45 minutes. Or, you can cook it longer, add more water or broth, puree it with a stick blender and make soup.

This recipe is also versatile because you can make it completely vegetarian/vegan by omitting the pancetta. Personally, I find myself arcing back towards a more vegetarian way of eating (I'm a former ovo-lacto vegetarian) and I find that beans are an easy way to be satisfied with rich flavors without adding meat.

CITYMAMA'S LENTILS FLAVORED WITH PANCETTA, RED WINE, AND ORANGE

1 bag of lentils, picked over and washed

3 bay leaves

pancetta (about 3 ounces), diced*

olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 medium onion chopped

3 celery stalks, sliced

2 carrots, sliced into discs

dry red wine, about 1/4 cup

the peel of 1/3 to 1/2 an orange (several pieces okay)

1 normal-sized can plain stewed (or diced) tomatoes

organic vegetable soup base or veggie broth (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Place lentils in a saucepot with 5 cups of cold water and one bay leaf. Bring to boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer covered for about 25 minutes until lentils are just tender and water is absorbed. Do not add salt to lentils during cooking. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a very large saute pan or dutch oven, saute pancetta in a splash of olive oil over medium heat until cooked through but not crisp, and fat begins to render. Add remaining bay leaves, garlic, onion, celery, and carrots and cook until veggies begin to carmelize. When a nice fond or brown crust begins to form on the bottom of the pan and veggies are nicely soft, splash in some red wine to de-glaze. (I do 2-3 glugs, you can use more or less as you like. Use broth if you don't want to use wine.) Cook until alcohol has evaporated, about a minute or so.

Add the cooked lentils to the pan along with 1-2 additional cups of water into which a spoonful of veggie soup base has been dissolved. (Again, this is optional. You can also add 1-2 cups of broth). The amount of water/broth you add to the lentils depends on how soupy you want them. If you want soup, you may have to add two more cups of water/broth.

Cook an additional 15 minutes before serving (if you can't wait any longer) or longer if you can wait. stirring often. Remove bay leaves and orange and check seasoning before serving.

What to do with this?

Serve alongside grilled sausages or pork chops or sliced cotechino

Top with plain yogurt that has been enhanced with orange zest and chopped parsley

Add cooked elbow macaroni (or other small pasta) for a heartier meal. Top with your favorite grated hard cheese.

If lentils are fairly intact and not too soupy, eat cold as a salad after swirling in some sherry or balsamic vinegar and drizzling with fruity olive oil

*When I buy pancetta (or guanciale), I ask the deli person to cut me a 2-inch-think hunk. (I just don't like the paper thin slices that come pre-packaged at places like Trader Joes.) Then, I take it home, and use as much as I need. To make these lentils I had about 1/3 of my hunk left. I diced that and used it as the base for the stew.

Cooking Gear To Spice Things Up

All-Clad cookwareI use the stainless line. I love it because you can put it in the dishwasher. If you like to cook it is sooo worth it to have quality pots and pans. I recommend buying a set on sale and then filling in extras as you need them. (Watch for sales and specials.)

Cast Iron SkilletPlease get rid of all your teflon-coated non-stick plans and get a cast iron skillet. I use mine for searing meat, poultry, and fish and then finishing off in the oven. In fact, get two cast iron skillets—one large enough to hold two ribeyes and a smaller, fried-egg-sized one for making...well...eggs.

Food ProcessorQuickly slice/shred veggies and cheese, make hummus or other spreads in a snap, and make pie crust without making a mess.

Global KnivesI am partial to the 18 incher. Yep, I like big knives and I cannot lie. If you like to cook (or even if you don't) you deserve to have good knives. At least one.

Instant Hot Water DispenserIf you can't afford to have one built-in, this is a great alternative. It's nice to have boiling water at the push of a button to make tea, instant miso soup, or morning oatmeal for the kidlets.

Microplane Grater/ZesterUse this to grate citrus zest, nutmeg, and cheese. You could get a coarser one, but you don't need to. I have one and I use it for everything.

SilpatSilpat is a silicone mat used for baking. They come in various sizes. Items will not stick to it. It is a must for any home baker.

Stick or Immersion BlenderIt doesn't have to be fancy, but try and get the highest HP you can afford. I use my stick blender (+ attachments) for making salad dressing (weekly), pureeing soups, making babyfood, and whipping cream.